Golf club



w. L. SMITH GOLF CLUB Filed July 8, 19

IN VEN TOR,

Patented Aug. 23, 1927.

urrED STATES' WALTER L. SMITH, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

sour onus.

Application filed July 8,

This invention relates to a golf club of improved construction.

It is an object of the invention to provide an article of this character, and particular- 1y, a putter, in which the construction of the shaft and the relationship of the same to the head will be such that the user may determine accurately the position and direction of advance of the striking face of the club head prior to executing a stroke and may make such stroke with assurance that the accuracy of travel of the ball will be greater than heretofore.

A further object of the invention is that of providing a golf club, and particularly, a putter, involving a relatively simple construction capable of economical manufacture, and which may be used by a relatively inexperienced person to control accurately the direction and distance of travel of the struck ball.

Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part appear hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises an article of manufacture possessing the features, properties and the relation of elements which will be exemplified in the article hereinafter described and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the claims.

For a fuller understanding of the nature and objects of the invention reference should be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows one form of golf club constructed in accordance with the teachings of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a front view of a second form thereof;

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view taken along the lines 33 and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4: is a similar view taken along the lines H and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 5 is a sectional plan view taken along the lines 55 and in the direction of the arrows of Fig. 1.

In the embodiments illustrated the invention has been shown as applied to' a golf club of the putter type for use in connection with which it is primarily intended. In these views the numeral 10 indicates the club head, which may be of any preferred con- 1926. Serial No. 121,090.

struction and which is provided with a tube or neck 11, into which the shaft of the club extends, this head having a flat striking face. -As shown, the lower end of the shaft may be round, as has been indicated at 12, this round portion merging into a rectangular part 13, which, as in Fig. 1, may have its cross-sectional area gradually increased to provide a rectangular handle-portion 14, or in which, as in Fig. 2, the cross-sectional area may be abruptly increased as at 15 to provide the handle-portion.

' The enlarged rectangular part of the shaft may occur at any point in the length thereof, but, as shown and described, preferably is provided at that portion thereof whichis gripped by the hands of the player; The proportions of this rectangular part of the shaft are preferably such that the flat face of the same exceeds the diameter of the conventional round club shaft, and, in any event, the wider faces of this portion are of materially greater width than the adjacent narrower faces thereof, the latter being preferably of just suflicient width to assure adequate rigidity on the part of the shaft.

The shaft is so disposed with reference to the head of the club that one of the faces of" the rectangular portion is parallel to the striking face of the club, and, as in Fig. 1,

this face may be the relatively narrow one, or, as in Fig. 2, the relatively broad face may be disposed in such relationship to the striking face of the club head.

Thus, the user of the club may gauge accurately the position of the striking face of the head with reference to the position of the ball and the direction in which the club head is swung, and the manner in which it follows through.

Where the enlar ed ectangular portion is provided at the an e or gripping part of the shaft, as has been shown in the illustrated embodiments, the user has the advantage that, in addition to being able to sight accurately the club head, the feel of the club as his hand grasps the same will result in the striking face of the head being arranged at right angles to the direction of swinging incident to the blade-like form of the shaft, it being appreciated that the thumbs of the user, in the form of club shown in Fig. 1, will bear against the broad face of the rectangular handle-portion, and in Fig. 2 against the edge-portlons thereof, thus assuring a good grip.

Thus, among others, the objectsof this invention have been accomplished, and since certain changes may be made in the above article, and different embodiments of the invention could be made, without departing from the scope thereof, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and.

not in a limiting sense.

It is also to be understood that the following claims are intended to cover all of the generic and specific features of the invention herein described and all statements of the scope of the invention which as a matter of language might be said to fall therebetween.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A golf putter, including a head having a striking face and a shaft secured to said head, said shaft presenting a circular portionladjacent its lower end and a bladeshaped rectangular portion adjacent its upper end, such latter portion having certain of its faces disposed parallel to theplane of the striking face of the head, the thickness of such portion being reduced to a substantially minimum amount consistent with the maintenance of rigidity of said shaft, and the width of the portion being such as to provide an-adequate bearing surface for the fingers.

2. A golf putter, including a head having a striking face. a shaft presenting in cross section a blade-shaped body to be gripped by the hands of the player, the lower end of said shaft being secured to said head, the

wide faces of the shaft extending substantially at rightangles to the striking face of the head and being of such area as to provide an adequate bearing surface for the fingers of a players hands, the thickness of the blade-shaped portion being reduced to an amount consistent with the maintenance of rigidity of said shaft and also consistent with the convenient disposition thereof between the fingers of the player.

3. A golf putter, including a shaft presenting in cross section a rectangular bladeshaped body to be gripped by the hands of the user, a head Secured to the lowercend of said shaft. and presenting a striking face, the

rigidity of-said shaft.

4:. A golf putter, including a rigid shaft having a portion to be gripped by the hands of the user, suchportion' presenting in cross section a rectangular blade-shaped body, a head provided with a striking face and secured to the lower end of said shaft, the

broad faces of said rectangular portion being of an area to providean adequate hearing surface for the fingers and being in excess of twice the width of the narrower faces of such portion, such broad faces extending substantially at right angles to the striking face of the head.

. In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

WALTER 'L. SMITH. 

